The Panzer Lehr
by Cynder fan
Summary: A German armoured column running from the Russians on the Eastern front drives into Equestria. But all they've done is drive from one war into another. When the haze of battle recedes, will their presence make a difference? (As seen on Fimfiction.) Criticism is welcome, but be nice about it.


Snow fell quietly across the vast snow fields of the Russian steppe, the silence only broken by the occasional howl as the wind whipped across the frozen landscape. It seemed as if nothing would disturb the tranquil scene. Then the ground began to shake with the guttural roar of several diesel engines. An armor plated beast burst through a snowbank, scattering the white powder into a fine mist.

A German tiger tank emerged from the cloud, its huge, blocky fuselage and camouflage paint more suited for southern Europe stood out easily against the snowfields. A hatch opened on top of the vehicle and an officer poked his head out. Colonel Wilhelm Schlesinger stood up in the turret of his tank and looked back at the column which trailed it.

Directly behind the tank was a "Puma" armored car. Armed with a 50mm anti tank gun and 30mm of armor on all sides it was effectively impenetrable for most small arms weapons, making it a perfect addition to the small task force. Although unable to counter tanks it would serve its purpose against enemy troop concentrations and bunkers, if they stumbled across any that was.

Behind it was an Opel Blitz truck carrying two squads of grenadiers. The squads were composed of 10 infantry a piece, a squad commander, 5 riflemen and 4 more men to man and protect the squads light machine gun.

Behind that was a supply truck. Loaded with munitions, food and medical supplies, enough to last roughly a month in the open steppe.

Last came a halftrack. An SdKfz 251 model. On board were four combat engineers and two 3 man squads to man the companies two heavy machine guns.

The company was in fairly good condition, seeing what they had been through. After the disaster during Operation Citadel (the battle of Kursk), German units had scattered all across the Russian front. Schlesinger's tank regiment had fallen behind enemy lines when they were set upon by waves of T-34's and other assorted Russian vehicles. By the end of the pitched firefight, the only tank left operational was Schlesinger's.

Alerted by the sound of the battle, two squads from the 9th Grenadier battalion stumbled across the remaining Tiger. The two groups joined forces in order to attempt to break back behind their own lines. A day later they found the armored car in a heated argument with a T-34. A point blank shot from the Tigers 88mm gun ended the dispute and the car had joined their motley column. With Russian armor closing in they were forced to turn east and head back into Russia to slip around the enemy forces.

Now they were in the middle of nowhere attempting to blaze a trail south west into Ukraine. Schlesinger lowered himself back down and closed the hatch, he rubbed his hands together in an attempt to keep warm. It was not yet winter but the weather was already beginning to turn against them. Many of the troops had fought either in or around the city of Stalingrad and were no strangers to the dangers that the cold presented. If they didn't find friends soon they would freeze in this frozen wasteland.

The drivers voice through his earpiece shook Schlesinger from his thoughts. "Sir, something ahead."

Schlesinger lifted his mouth piece. "Can you identify?" He asked.

"Negative." The driver replied. "All I can see is a bright light."

The gunner put his eye to the gunsight. "Same here sir, bright light dead ahead."

Schlesinger didn't dare open that hatch for a peek. The light may have been the reflection off a Soviet gunsight. He changed his headset frequency to the radio operators. "Send a message to all vehicles, unknown contact ahead, prepare for imminent engagement."

The column came to a halt as the orders were passed around. The infantry dismounted from the trucks, some climbed aboard the Tiger, perching on the back to defend its vulnerable sides and rear, the others taking positions alongside it. The crew of the halftrack stood up in the vehicle, two of them manning the heavy machine guns at the front and rear, the others raising their rifles, SMGs and STG assault rifles. The halftrack the moved up to the third space in the column.

Seeing that all was in order, Schlesinger called to his driver. "Move out." The tank started forward, the infantry walking alongside and the other vehicles following behind. As they got close, the light began to intensify, everyone shielded their eyes from the intense glare. Then, just as quickly as it had appeared it had gone. Schlesinger threw open the hatched and looked behind them. The light was no longer visible, just the column of vehicles. He turned around and his mouth dropped open. In front of them was an enormous pink dome, it glowed with a healthy pink aurora and inside the dome, was a city.

"Are you seeing what i'm seeing sir?" Came the voice of the Puma commander, Captain Schmitt.

"I'm seeing it, but I don't know what i'm seeing." Said Schlesinger, raising his officers cap slightly to wipe his brow.

"Russians sir?" asked Schmitt.

"I don't think so." Said Schlesinger. "I doubt the Russians have the technological advancement to create something like this. Lets go check it out."

The tiger began to roll again, within minutes they were at the edge of the dome. The tiger slowed to a crawl as the barrel of its massive gun penetrated the barrier. Noting that there were no i'll effects Schlesinger ordered the column to advance into the city.

In the castle at the center of the city, a pink alicorn princess looked up from her tired stupor in surprise and alarm. Something huge had penetrated her shield. She felt it again another 4 times as several slightly smaller objects pushed their way through. It was not King Sombra, she would have sensed his presence long before he tried to push through the shield, this was something else. Possibly a demon of some sort created by Sombra to bring down her Empires defenses.

With her husband away, it was up to her to defend her kingdom. She gave a weak cry and two guards in crystal armor raced into the throne room. "How may we serve your highness." They both said at the same time and bowed.

"Something has entered the Empire from the north, rally the Crystal guard. We must confront whatever this is and determine its intentions." The two guards bowed and raced out of the room.

Princess Cadence walked over to her balcony and raised her wings, she leapt over the edge and fluttered quickly to the ground where she was joined by a platoon of 30 ponies in crystal armor. "Something has invaded our Empire." She said to them. "We are to barricade off the north road and determine their intentions."

The tiger tank slowly made its way down the main street of the city. The troops on the back of the tank and around it gazed in wonder at the cities beauty. The buildings looked to be carved from gems and sparkled just as much. Everywhere was clean and tidy, not a speck of dirt anywhere.

Schlesinger peered down the road through his binoculars, his eyes widened at what he saw. Around 30 brightly colored equine creatures were overturning a wagon in the path of the tank. Several soldiers around the tank had also caught sight of the creatures and had raised their weapons into firing position. Schlesinger gave an order to halt and the tank slowly stopped. "All vehicles, targets spotted, hold fire until ordered."

Once he had received a response from all the vehicles he slowly began to climb out of the turret. "Where are you going Sir?" Called Captain Schmitt from the vehicle behind.

"To parley with these creatures." He responded, reaching back down into the turret and pulling out an MP-40 submachine gun. "Judging from what we can see around us they are a sentient species and, as such, may be open to reasoning." He climbed down from the side of the tank and straightened his Iron cross. "If anything happens to me you are to assume command." Schmitt nodded and saluted.

Schlesinger began to walk towards the make shift barricade, several of the Equines saw him coming and shouted to each other. Surprisingly, Schlesinger found that he could understand them. A large pink horse bearing a horn on its forehead and wings on its back stood atop the wagon, its horn was ablaze with Pink light.

"Stop where you are and identify yourself." She called.

Schlesinger cleared his throat. "Colonel Wilhelm Schlesinger, 3rd Panzer army. Wehrmacht." (Ver-mah-ct). "I must speak with whoever is in charge immediately."

"You are a soldier?" Asked Cadence. "Of what nation."

"I serve the 3rd Reich." Upon realizing that they wouldn't know what that meant he added. "Germany. As do all my men."

Cadence looked past him at the halted column some way back up the road. "How many soldiers do you have?" She asked.

Schlesinger did a quick number crunch. "I'd say about 45 or so. Who is in charge here?"

"That would be me." Said Cadence with a smile. "I am Princess Cadence, caretaker of the Crystal Empire, which is where you are now."

Schlesinger almost rolled his eyes. "That explains a lot." He said. "My men and I need a place to stay. We don't have the equipment to camp out and we have equipment in need of repair."

"Of course." Said Cadence. At the end of the statement her voice faltered and the pink aurora around her horn flickered slightly. The shield above them shimmered in response. An evil sounding laugh echoed through the city.

"What was that?" Asked Schlesinger, pulling the MP-40 off his back and cocking it.

Two crystal guards helped Cadence to stand up straight. "Bring your troops, i'll explain everything once we get back to the palace."

Schlesinger raised and arm and gave a hand signal to the waiting vehicles. The column began moving again, this time at speed, the troops leaping into the back of the Opel. They stopped just short of Schlesinger who leapt up the front of the tank and sat on the turret.

Cadence looked up at the imposing war machine, her eyes wide. "Follow me." She said. She raised her wings and took off flying back towards a large building in the center of the city. To Schlesinger, it resembled the Eiffel tower in Paris, only made of Chrystal. She lead them under the massive legs of the tower before landing. The vehicles pulled up in a line, side by side, behind her.

"Company, parade formation!" Shouted Schlesinger. Hatches and doors on all the vehicles opened and troops, gunners and drivers all disembarked and stood at attention in front of their respective vehicle.

Schlesinger looked at his assembled men. "Infantry will spread out and form a perimeter around our armor. The natives will no doubt be curious and we can't have them getting in the way. All officers not needed here will follow me. Dismissed."

The troops saluted simultaneously, then turned and set about their assigned tasks. The infantry spread out around the vehicles, except for a few who set about unloading the machine guns from the half track. 2 other officers from various units came forward, including Schmitt.

Cadence looked on with a small contingent of her guards. "Your men show impressive discipline." She said.

Schlesinger looked back at her. "I would expect nothing less from the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen. You said you would explain whats going on."

"Yes, of course." Cadence turned. "Will you kindly accompany me to the throne room." The throne room was located in the thickest part of the tower with an entrance concealed within one of the supporting columns. A large throne made entirely of crystal sat at the far end of the room. Cadence took her place upon the throne and turned to the group of officers.

"I believe I should introduce myself properly." Said Cadence. "I am Princess Cadence, granddaughter of the Princesses Celestia and Luna, Rulers of the nation of Equestria." It was an impressive title.

"As I said before, I am Colonel Wilhelm Schlesinger, 3rd Panzer army. Wehrmacht." Said Schlesinger.

"I am Captain Wolfgang Schmitt, 1st armored reconnaissance battalion, Whermacht." Said Schmitt.

The tall officer bearing lieutenants stripes stepped forward. "Lieutenant Hans Krous, 9th Grenadiers battalion, Wehrmacht."

Cadence bowed to each in turn. "I guess I should explain the story from the beginning." She began. "1000 years ago, the Crystal Empire thrived, the people were happy and the happiness radiated across Equestria. Then, the king, a powerful unicorn by the name of Sombra decided to declare martial law and enslave the population. He was confronted by my aunts Celestia and Luna, turned to smoke and banished into the wastelands of the arctic north. But not before he did two things, the first was to put a curse on the Empire, causing it to vanish without trace, the other, he corrupted Luna's mind and forced Celestia to banish her to the moon."

"In the madness that followed, Discord, a creature of pure chaos, arose from the depths of Tartarus and seized Equestria for himself, igniting a bloody 200 year civil war. Celestia won in the end and Discord was turned to stone, but the damage had already been done. It took ten generations to rebuild and without the Crystal Empire radiating harmony, there was always the looming threat of another war."

Schlesinger nodded his head. "I see." He said. "But how are we in the Crystal Empire if it vanished 1000 years ago, how are we even here at all!"

"I believe I can explain that." Cadence continued. "Recently, the Empire suddenly reappeared, unfortunately, so did Sombra, and now he wants to reclaim it for his own. The only thing keeping him out is the shell of my magic. As for why you are here. I am not a scientist but I suspect that bringing the Crystal Empire back here took a lot of power or energy. That energy could have been so concentrated it tore a gash in the fabric of space itself, allowing you access."

"So we can go back whenever we want?" Asked Schmitt.

Cadences smile faltered. "I'm afraid not. I suspect that the portal closed shortly after you came through and the power needed to recreate it would be immense, not even Celestia has that kind of raw power."

The officers looked at each other. Schlesinger opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by shouting outside. "What is that?" He asked, walking over to a window to look out. Suddenly, there were two cracks of rifle fire, several screams and a small burst of machine gun fire.

"Oh schise." Schmitt cursed turning and running for the exit, drawing a luger as he went. Schlesinger ran to, followed by Krous and Cadence. He hoped that none of his soldiers had accidentally killed any natives, that would not look good.

He came to the bottom of the stairs and skidded to a halt next to Schmitt. A large white unicorn was laying on its side with blood dribbling from an obvious bullet wound in its foreleg, a rifle barrel to the side of its head. Another 6 brightly colored ponies and a small reptilian creature were standing in a tight circle, surrounded by German infantry. 3 of them, a light blue Pegasus with an amazing looking rainbow colored mane, an orange pony with an American west style stetson hat and a purple unicorn whose gaze shifted from the fallen unicorn to the barrel of the assault rifle pointed at her head, a look of silent fury across her face, faced the guns defiantly.

The others were in various states, a smaller white unicorn had passed out and the reptilian creature was attempting to wake her up. A pink pony with a mane like cotton candy was attempting to peer up the barrel of a rifle, and a light yellow pegasus was whimpering and crying quietly on the ground.

"Stand down!" Shouted Schlesinger. "What in gods name happened here?"

An infantry sergeant ran up to him and saluted. "Sir, these ponies charged us. We yelled at them to halt but they refused, when they got too close, we fired a warning shot. They ignored it so we shot their leader in the leg."

"Shiny!" Cadence ran to the fallen unicorns side and fell to her knees. He had passed out, whether from pain, shock or blood loss no one knew. "What have you done to him?" She shouted.

"Medic." Called Schlesinger. One of the combat engineers ran back to the half track and returned with a first aid kit. "He's been shot." He explained to Cadence. "We need to treat the wound before he bleeds out."

The medic made to move towards Shining Armor, but a blur of purple stopped him. The purple unicorn had broken from the encirclement and was now standing over the white unicorn, her horn lit with purple energy and pointed at the medic. "You will not hurt my brother!" She shouted. A dozen guns, including the heavy machine gun mounted on the turret of the Tiger, were pointed at her but Schlesinger raised a hand and gestured for them to lower their weapons. He then knelt down so he was on the unicorns level.

"Please, your brother needs help and we are the only ones who can administer it."

"Likely story." The purple unicorn growled, not giving an inch.

"Look at him." Schlesinger gestured to the steadily growing pool of blood. "He's lost a lot of blood already, if we don't help he will die."

"Twilight, let them help." Said Cadence softly.

The purple unicorn known as Twilight sighed and stepped back. "Fine." She grumbled. "But if I see any signs of treachery I will end you all personally."

Schlesinger nodded and the medic began to inspect the wound. He lifted Shining's leg and looked at the other side. "No exit wound." he mumbled. "He reached into the first aid kit and pulled out a set of tweezers. "I have to remove the bullet. It's a bit risky but if we can keep the wound clean it shouldn't get infected. Would a few of you mind holding him down, if he wakes up he may panic."

The orange pony and the blue pegasus moved from the circle of troops and each took a position, the orange pony holding the unicorns rear legs, the pegasus holding down his body. Twilight held his forelegs and Cadence sat by his head. "Ready?" Asked the medic. They all nodded in the affirmative. The medic began to push the tweezers into the wound. Shining was awake in an instant. He began to struggle violently.

Everyone held firm and Cadence began whispering softly in his ear, slowly he began to calm down, though he still jerked occasionally whenever the medic hit a nerve. The medic found what he was looking for, tightened the tweezers and slowly pulled back. Shining jerked his head back and gave a cry through gritted teeth.

The medic finally removed the tweezers from the wound and held up an almost intact Kar-98k bullet. He then began to bandage the wound. "He was lucky, an inch higher and that bullet may have hit an artery, or worse, ricocheted of his leg bone and up into his chest."

Cadence carefully helped Shining to his hooves. "Who are these creature?" He asked, stumbling slightly on his injured leg as he tried to move out of the pool of blood.

Schlesinger looked at Cadence. "Back to the throne room?"

Cadence smiled, "Yes."


End file.
